Blackhawks blank Red Wings in exhibition opener

Patrick Sharp rifled a wrist shot from top of the right circle that found the back of the net, the United Center crowd erupted and Chelsea Dagger blared.

It was just like not-so-old times for the Hawks as they kicked off their exhibition season the same way they ended the 2013 season in late June — with a victory.

Sharp and Ben Smith scored and Corey Crawford made 19 saves as the Hawks blanked the Red Wings 2-0 Tuesday night before a crowd of 20,071.

“We played solid,” Crawford said. “(Forwards) came back and helped out our ‘D’ and our ‘D’ were moving the puck great. You always want to get better every game and every day leading into the season. The main goal is to not let anything in.

“We didn’t give up too much so it wasn’t the toughest night but still I felt good in there. I would have liked to have maybe gotten a little bit more key situations, a couple of more shots in the slot or a couple of more plays around the net … just to get the hang of it but it was a good night.”

Late in the second, Sharp took a drop pass from Jeremy Morin and ripped a shot past Wings goaltender Jonas Gustavsson. Just 1 minute, 9 seconds later, Smith made it 2-0 when he redirected a Jimmy Hayes shot.

The Wings had two players ejected as Teemu Pulkkinen was given a game misconduct for boarding in the first and Mitch Callahan followed suit in the second. Hawks defenseman Michael Kostka did not return after Pulkkinen’s check into the boards early in the first.

Coach Joel Quenneville said Kostka’s upper-body injury from the hit was “not bad.”

Neighbors: Winger Patrick Kane lives in the same downtown high-rise as Bulls guard Derrick Rose and the young stars’ paths have crossed several times in the lobby.

“(Rose) always goes out of his way to say, ‘Hi,’” Kane said. “He’s a really nice person. Any time I’ve gotten a chance to run into him I’ve been pretty impressed.”

Getting close: Captain Jonathan Toews did not play against the Wings but skated on his own for the second consecutive day as he recovers from a lower-body injury.

Coach Joel Quenneville said Toews “is fine,” but likely won’t play against the Penguins on Thursday night in the second exhibition.

“I’m leaning more toward the weekend with him although I’m sure he’s going to want to play,” Quenneville said.

One-timers: The Hawks’ active roster stands at 47 after they made several moves. They assigned forward David Gilbert to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. In addition, the team assigned defensemen Dillon Fournier (Rouyn-Noranda/QMJHL) and Travis Brown (Moose Jaw/WHL) and goaltender Brandon Whitney (Victoriaville/QMJHL) to their respective junior teams. The Hawks also released forwards Wade Brookbank and Pat Mullane and defensemen Joe Gleason, Jared Nightingale and Bobby Shea from training camp. Twenty-eight forwards, 14 defensemen and five goaltenders remain on the roster. … Veteran winger Marian Hossa is expected to make his exhibition debut against the Penguins. … The Hawks will have the day off Wednesday.